Kitchen towels are a major necessity in the kitchen. But they need to be in the best shape to work best for you.
In addition, the fabric of the kitchen towel plays a crucial role in determining how you can clean and store your kitchen towel best considering its fabric.
What Fabric Are Kitchen Towels?
The fabric used to make kitchen towels ranges from cotton, microfibre, flour sack linen, and terry cloth.
- Linen has a vintage touch to it. That is because it is made of soft fibres that allow it to clean fragile dishes without any chance of damage. In addition, they have a good feature in that they absorb liquids quickly and can be used repeatedly since they dry fairly fast.
- Terry cloth fabric is made of carefully crafted loops that have spaces between the fabric that is ideal for absorbing moisture/liquid.
- Cotton is perhaps the most common fabric since they are durable, absorbent, and can withstand the pressure of being used repeatedly.
- Microfibre fabric, unlike the other fabrics, is not soft. However, they can absorb liquids and dry very fast, and they are also easy to clean. Furthermore, they work wonders in absorbing oil.
- The flour sack kitchen towel is made of cotton fibres tightly woven together in a diagonal pattern to improve their durability and absorption rate.
How Do I Make My Kitchen Towels More Absorbent?
Below are some steps you can follow to enhance the absorption rate of your kitchen towel below:
- Before using the kitchen towels, wash them twice. For the first part, add a cup of white vinegar and wash them without using detergent. Take the kitchen towel through another wash without drying it. Only this time using half a cup of baking soda and still without adding detergent. The baking soda and vinegar remove the coating used during its manufacture, making it soft and getting back its absorbency.
- Another way is to less the required level of detergent to reduce the amount of detergent remaining in the fabric.
- Finally, stop using a fabric-softener on kitchen towels. This ic because it has water-resisting properties that reduce its absorbency properties significantly.
How Do I Keep My Kitchen Towels Dry?
To keep your kitchen towels dry, avoid stacking them on top of one another.
However, this is not enough.
You should ensure that you place the kitchen at the place it would dry the best way possible.
Below are some of the best ways to ensure it dries best:
Magnetic Hooks
These are very efficient since they can be stored on multiple magnetic surfaces in the fridge, microwave, or dishwasher.
The kitchen towels mostly have a loop that comes with them to allow you to hang them on the hook easily.
Another positive is that it is easy to locate when you need them as soon as possible. All while ensuring the kitchen towel is air-dried.
Bar Holder
The bar holder offers simplicity in that it can be placed on the side of an island in the kitchen away from the kitchen sink, where it may get splashes of water that might dampen it.
In addition, the kitchen towel easily gets air-dried since it has free dry air flowing around it.
Towel Clip
The towel clip method is a good way of keeping the kitchen towel dry and also easily accessible.
The clips keep the towel on the oven handle without any chance of falling off since they are held well enough.
Where Are The Best Ways To Store Kitchen Towels?
The best place to store kitchen towels is where it is easily accessible and is free from moisture to ensure no bacteria build-up. These are some best locations:
Cabinet Rack
The cabinet rack is conveniently placed on the backside of a cabinet of your choice.
It is an excellent way to store since it ensures the kitchen towel is not easily contaminated by constant contact.
Storage bin
Pick a bin that is mostly open to ensure you can easily access the kitchen towels.
It may be better to hang it on a nail to ensure the kitchen towels get good air circulation even while being stored.
However, don’t forget to ensure that the kitchen towels are already to prevent them from getting damp and mold.
Mesh laundry bag
A mesh laundry bag ensures that there is good airflow; hence it would be very hard to find your towels smelly l due to dampness.
Other storage ways include the magnetic hook and the bag holder according to your kitchen convenience.
Why Do Kitchen Towels Smell Bad?
Since they are used to clean many liquids on the kitchen surfaces, they are prone to get odors, especially if it’s not well cleaned or cleaned correctly.
There are some ways you can ensure that you do away with smelly kitchen towels altogether:
- Wash the towel regularly to ensure the odor from the liquids has no chance of being retained
When using the washing machine, use the hot water setting when cleaning the kitchen towel - Dip the kitchen towel in warm water and one tablespoon of vinegar for 15 minutes, after which you sprinkle one tablespoon of baking soda. Vinegar and baking soda have a notoriety of removing odor from kitchen towel fabric.
- Add bleach to the cleaning water when washing a white kitchen towel.
- When using the washing machine, use the hot water setting when cleaning the kitchen towel
- Ensure you either hang the kitchen towels under the sun to dry or immediately to the dryer after getting them from the washing machine to ensure no bacteria build-up due to the moisture.
- Ensure your kitchen is dry and clean since the kitchen towels pick up the moisture and odor from the air.
- Always dry the kitchen towels to dry even when they are in regular usage to ensure the moisture does not accumulate
- Every month place the kitchen towels in boiling water for about five to seven minutes to kill the bacteria that might have been building up in the fabric. Hence removing any odors that may have been picked up.
Why Should You Wash Kitchen Towels Separately?
Washing them separately from other laundry is highly advised.
This is because you may end up covering your kitchen towel with germs that may be harmful to your health if you use it on your utensils.
However, you can wash them together. This is only if you wash them at a temperature of 60 degrees and above to kill the bacteria that may hide on the fabric.
With the above tips, you will find that you will have a very easy time maintaining your kitchen towels. Thus they will serve you longer while maintaining their durability.
Also Read: Types of Kitchen Towels
